Breaking Out of Negative Thinking
1. Notice your negativity bias.
The first step is to bring awareness to this ordinary habit of the mind. Catch yourself when you slip into self-doubt, rumination, anxiety, and fear. Notice when your mind starts spinning out worst-case scenarios about how it's all going to come crashing apart.
2. Shift to a moment of gratitude.
Noticing opens the space for carving new neural pathways. Shifting allows you to flood this space with a more productive focus of attention. A few seconds of gratitude is the most efficient way to do this. Think of one thing you're grateful for right now. Your home. Your job. Your health. Your family. Your talents and strengths. Your drive.
3. Rewire your brain.
Here’s where the real work of begins. Hanson calls this the simple act of savoring. It’s taking 15 seconds to stay with this new mindset -- to encode it deep into the fabric of your mind.
This last step is where we transform our ordinary habit of overlooking the positive. It’s where we shift the brain's response to all the good in life from Teflon to Velcro. We’re flipping our evolved wiring on its head -- taking just a few seconds to build stronger memories around all the good things happening in life.
The best thing about this practice is that it’s time efficient, portable, and powerful. It takes less than 30 seconds, you can do it anytime and anywhere, and you will begin to experience an immediate shift in your mindset.
The moment you make this shift, everything changes. You remember your purpose, look forward to new challenges, and face life with renewed optimism.
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